The present invention is directed to improvements in a bus connector which includes a pair of bus connector caps secured to a bus connector base so that each cap secures a bus cable in operable connection with the connector base. For purposes of this application, the words “bus”, “cable” and “bus cable” are intended to encompass both a physical communications medium and the transmissions over that medium, unless it is otherwise apparent from the context.
Bus connectors like those shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,581 to Baier et al. facilitate the interconnection of buses that have been found to have certain installation problems. These problems include the fact that even though the cap and base have a guide post arrangement to ensure the correct orientation of the cap relative to the base, incorrect installations still occur. Additionally, there is a need to sometimes secure the assembled connector to a fixture such as a post or bar to a set of cables or the like.
It is desirable that the base connectors and caps can be only assembled in one orientation so that the corresponding lines of a pair of buses being connected by the connector will be connected, as opposed to the connection of opposed lines if one of the buses were somehow reversed. It is also desirable to secure the assembled connector to a fixture.